Press Releases

Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin today announced the approval of the affiliation of Memorial Hospital and Care New England, with conditions, pursuant to the expedited review process of the Hospital Conversions Act.

"Memorial Hospital and Care New England share strong ties to Rhode Island and a reputation for providing quality health care services. Today's announcement, along with the recent approval by the Department of Health, allows the two entities to move forward and provide greater certainty that access to quality healthcare services to Pawtucket area residents will continue," said Attorney General Kilmartin.

"I commend the parties for their professionalism and cooperation in providing us with the information we needed to conduct the review and come to this decision. I would further like to thank my staff and our partners at the Rhode Island Department of Health for the diligence and careful consideration each put into this review process. With the rapidly-changing landscape of the healthcare marketplace, we are mindful of the important role we as regulators play in balancing the need to protect the interests of the patients, the community, the employees and the state with the economic realities faced by our community hospitals."

Today's announcement marks the second time this year the Office of Attorney General has reviewed and approved a hospital conversion under the expedited review process, reducing the time allowed for review from 120 days to 90 days. In April, Attorney General Kilmartin approved the sale of Westerly Hospital and affiliated entities to Lawrence + Memorial Corporation. In addition, the Office recently deemed the HCA application complete for the sale of Landmark Medical Center and affiliated entities to Prime Healthcare Services, Inc.